We'll be talking broomball and hockey tomorrow.
Showing posts with label phillies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label phillies. Show all posts
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Let's see here
Yankees "vaunted" lineup shut down by Cliff Lee? Check.
Phillies lineup enjoys right field at Yankee Stadium? Check.
New York bullpen exposed, again? Check.
A closer look at the numbers:
Phillies lineup enjoys right field at Yankee Stadium? Check.
New York bullpen exposed, again? Check.
A closer look at the numbers:
- Cliff Lee went all 9, allowing 6 hits, one for extra bases, and one unearned run. 10 strikeouts. 0 walks. An "NL pitcher," indeed.
- CC Sabathia had an impressive, although uneconomical, start. 7 innings, 3/6 walk to strikeout, 4 hits, all for extra bases. He also threw 113 pitches.
- The Yankees bullpen is crap, and they proved it again tonight. Over two innings, five pitchers combined to give up 4 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks. Damaso Marte got the only strikeout of the relief corps. Outside Mariano Rivera, there is nobody in that bullpen who can be trusted.
- Chase Utley hit two homers to right. Both were actual homers in non-Little League parks, and both came on nearly identical pitches. Considering his defense, Chase Utley is a franchise second baseman.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Look
Without admitting defeat, I can confidently say this:
Let's go Phillies.
Coming back from a 3-1 hole isn't unprecedented...11 teams of the 69 who have been a game away from elimination have come back to win the series. The odds aren't great, and with the way the Angels have been playing in the ALCS, it's probably less likely than the 15.94% statistic above.
But what the Angels can do is play with some pride. Allowing an admitted steroid user* to hit home runs at will isn't something you should put up with in an elimination game. Back him off the plate. Hit him. Do something, because the team is missing the spark it had for those mid-summer months.
Drop Guerrero to 5th, move Kendrick to 4th (yes, Kendrick), replace Rivera with Gary Matthews Jr., and-wait, did I just suggest playing Gary Matthews Junior?
Yup. If you look at offense, the Angels have gotten nothing out of Rivera in the playoffs. And the defense he provides is substantially reduced from GMJ. Moreover, if Rivera's going to keep hitting into double plays, you might as well have a guy at the plate who might be able to beat out a few of them.
You might as well start Jeff Mathis as well. His last three hits have been doubles, which is more than I can say about ice-cold Mike Napoli.
Mike Scioscia is criticized as being a little too nonchalant with his in-game management during the playoffs, and I'm inclined to agree. With MLB's stupidly short playoffs, managing a series the way you manage a season doesn't work. You can't let a struggling starter give up runs in the early innings. You can't leave runs on second and third when all you need is a guy to hit a sac fly. You can't leave a struggling, aging cleanup hitter in the cleanup spot when he leaves 8 men on base.
*I don't really have a problem with Rodriguez, a point I've outlined before. But hey, we're down 3-1, I'm allowed to be a bit of a hypocrite.
Playoffs Miscellany:
Let's go Phillies.
Coming back from a 3-1 hole isn't unprecedented...11 teams of the 69 who have been a game away from elimination have come back to win the series. The odds aren't great, and with the way the Angels have been playing in the ALCS, it's probably less likely than the 15.94% statistic above.
But what the Angels can do is play with some pride. Allowing an admitted steroid user* to hit home runs at will isn't something you should put up with in an elimination game. Back him off the plate. Hit him. Do something, because the team is missing the spark it had for those mid-summer months.
Drop Guerrero to 5th, move Kendrick to 4th (yes, Kendrick), replace Rivera with Gary Matthews Jr., and-wait, did I just suggest playing Gary Matthews Junior?
Yup. If you look at offense, the Angels have gotten nothing out of Rivera in the playoffs. And the defense he provides is substantially reduced from GMJ. Moreover, if Rivera's going to keep hitting into double plays, you might as well have a guy at the plate who might be able to beat out a few of them.
You might as well start Jeff Mathis as well. His last three hits have been doubles, which is more than I can say about ice-cold Mike Napoli.
Mike Scioscia is criticized as being a little too nonchalant with his in-game management during the playoffs, and I'm inclined to agree. With MLB's stupidly short playoffs, managing a series the way you manage a season doesn't work. You can't let a struggling starter give up runs in the early innings. You can't leave runs on second and third when all you need is a guy to hit a sac fly. You can't leave a struggling, aging cleanup hitter in the cleanup spot when he leaves 8 men on base.
*I don't really have a problem with Rodriguez, a point I've outlined before. But hey, we're down 3-1, I'm allowed to be a bit of a hypocrite.
Playoffs Miscellany:
- It's disappointing, despite none of the calls truly affecting the score of the games, that the umpiring in this series has been so horrendous. I still can't believe an umpire can call a player safe despite the fact that he was tagged while off a base...it's one of those things that doesn't even happen in little league. Something needs to be done.
- The Dodgers had a terrible showing this season. The Angels/Yankees series has been close, and the series might have been 3-1 the other way with a couple different bounces. The Dodgers, though, really weren't in it, and I think the weaknesses in their starting rotation were exposed. It's a shame that there's so many off days during the playoffs, otherwise the Yankees would be similarly disadvantaged. Also, it's ridiculous that Orlando Hudson wasn''t starting every game. Joe Torre is an idiot.
- Yeah, I'm going to whine about the playoff format again. No more off days without travel. It's stupid. It's not what happens in the regular season, so why does it happen in the playoffs? It allows teams with severe problems with their starting rotations to succeed. Baseball is a team game...if you can't throw out 5 starters who give you a chance to win, then why is the regular season so long?
- CC Sabathia's arm will fall off next season if there is any justice in this world. It's going to be awesome when he needs TJ surgery and his contract becomes a drag on the suddenly poor Steinbrenner family, the fans abandon the Yankees for the Orioles, and the Blue Jays start a ten-year run of AL East domination. A kid can dream.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Delayed World Series Celebration?
It seems a little late, but I guess all the Boston fans just figured out the Phillies beat the Rays for the World Series. They're all outside chanting something like "Oh-Bah-Maddon" or something...maybe they're poking fun at Joe Maddon's team losing? Either way, they're really loud and I feel like this is something they should've celebrated a week ago.
Weird.
Weird.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Today's post goes in order of national importance
Phillies 5, Rays 4
Phillies 10, Rays 2
Color me surprised. I really didn't think the Phillies had much of a chance against the Rays' starting staff, but they sit one win away from capturing a World Series.
Saturday's game featured a five-man infield in the ninth, an exciting gimmick that typically doesn't work. The Phillies scored on a fielder's choice swinging bunt to Evan Longoria. He made a good effort to get to the ball but then underhanded it into the stands, and that was that.
Tonight's game had two things I did not expect at all.
1.) A good pitching performance from meatballer Joe Blanton.
2.) A home run from pitcher Joe Blanton.
The Angels regularly faced Blanton while he was with Oakland. He was not good. Frankly, he still isn't good, but he managed to keep men off base when the Rays homered and did a good job creating some offense for himself. Plus, you've gotta love when former A's win while the current Oakland club is rebuilding...again.
Philadelphia sends out heartthrob Cole Hamels to face Scott "Stoner" Kazmir tomorrow evening. As the sun rises on William Penn, the sun sets in St. Petersburg.
Patriots 23, Rams 16
I do not subscribe to the school of thought which states a midseason coaching change can make a real difference. The Rams are still bad, newfound "fire" and "desire to win" aside. The fact remains that the Patriots are a very average team who still beat St. Louis thanks to solid field position and excellent special teams play.
Cassel had a better game than the 2 interception linescore shows. The first interception was a weird bounce off a defender, and the second was the result of Wes Welker being on the ground instead of finishing his route. It happens. Matty C also threw a touchdown pass to Randy Moss which Moss promptly dropped, although he had a pretty solid game with 106 receiving yards.
New England is now 5-2 and tied for first in the AFC East as Buffalo lost to Miami (!) today. Miami is not good, but they're sure as hell better than they were last year.
The Pats play in Indy next week. The Colts will be on a short week as they play unbeaten Tennessee tonight on Monday Night Football. The Titans are the worst 6-0 team of all time, except for, perhaps, the 1972 Miami Dolphins. Going undefeated against crappy teams does not a great team make. And Mercury Morris needs to go away.
Huskies 5, Maine 0
Huskies 2, Maine 1
A weekend sweep in Orono is about as unlikely as Matt Cassel beating an NFL team. Which is to say, considerably more likely considering the level of competition. Maine is absolutely horrendous this year, with neither goalie filling the void left by 6'7" Ben Bishop. Bishop, incidentally, just got his first NHL win as the starting goalie for the St. Louis Blues. The Blues' usual starting goalie Manny Legace was injured on a carpet intended for Sarah Palin.
I'm not even going to touch that.
Friday night's game was not as lopsided as the score suggests, but the Huskies did get contributions from 5 different players. Freshman Alex Tuckerman notched his first collegiate goal, and Rob Rassey scored in his first start this season. The Huskies also got goals from Mike Hewkin, Chris Donovan, and David Strathman.
Saturday's game was stolen by NU in the third, with Rassey getting his second goal and IPNO favorite Ryan Ginand netting the gamewinner on a nasty backhand wraparound. Northeastern was badly outshot yet again, this time 27-13. This isn't a huge concern as they're obviously making their shots count, but I'd like to see them throw the puck at the net a little more often, particularly on the power play.
Brad Thiessen. Still awesome. That is all.
Wildabeasts 3, Kappa Sigma 2
I told Jeff before the game I'd need 3 goals to win. And even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes.
We tripled our career-best goals/game against a mediocre team, but we probably could've scored a couple more minus some bad bounces. The W sure looks nice now, though, as we're 2-1-1 with one game left. A win probably puts us in the playoffs.
As far as my actual play, I got to the arena about an hour early and tried to do the whole athlete thing, complete with heavy metal-laden iPod and hooded sweatshirt. I have to say, I was definitely more focused at the onset of the game, but I was feeling unusually tired even early in the first. As a result, I wasn't popping up quickly enough and was leaving way too much of the net open.
The first goal I allowed was an absolutely unacceptable squibber through the five-hole. I almost let in another but finally closed it up, making the save with my calves and the ball behind my body. I don't know what my deal is, but I just wasn't squaring up quickly enough the whole game.
The second goal was more respectable, although frankly still a shot I should've saved. They had a 2 on 1 breakaway, but I decided to stay deep in the net because I forgot that passing is damn near impossible. So instead of challenging the guy with the ball, I sorta stayed back and a shot flicked up over my weak side foot. I got a piece of it, but not enough, and had I come out and gotten closer I would've cut the angle and possibly even been able to poke it away. It didn't end up mattering, but that was not a fun goal to surrender.
My third period was generally solid. I had a sorta cool save where a liner hit me in the chest and popped up, so I sorta swatted it away with the stick with a forward incoming. It looked cool, although the right choice would've been to pull the glove over and pull it out of the air entirely. My last save was a nervous one on a high shot that I knocked down and then had to dive on. My teammates look nervous about those, but I can guarantee I'm more nervous about letting one of those squirt away onto the stick of an opponent.
The next game's not for a couple weeks, so I'll need to find a way to stay focused and maintain my mechanics.
Phillies 10, Rays 2
Color me surprised. I really didn't think the Phillies had much of a chance against the Rays' starting staff, but they sit one win away from capturing a World Series.
Saturday's game featured a five-man infield in the ninth, an exciting gimmick that typically doesn't work. The Phillies scored on a fielder's choice swinging bunt to Evan Longoria. He made a good effort to get to the ball but then underhanded it into the stands, and that was that.
Tonight's game had two things I did not expect at all.
1.) A good pitching performance from meatballer Joe Blanton.
2.) A home run from pitcher Joe Blanton.
The Angels regularly faced Blanton while he was with Oakland. He was not good. Frankly, he still isn't good, but he managed to keep men off base when the Rays homered and did a good job creating some offense for himself. Plus, you've gotta love when former A's win while the current Oakland club is rebuilding...again.
Philadelphia sends out heartthrob Cole Hamels to face Scott "Stoner" Kazmir tomorrow evening. As the sun rises on William Penn, the sun sets in St. Petersburg.
Patriots 23, Rams 16
I do not subscribe to the school of thought which states a midseason coaching change can make a real difference. The Rams are still bad, newfound "fire" and "desire to win" aside. The fact remains that the Patriots are a very average team who still beat St. Louis thanks to solid field position and excellent special teams play.
Cassel had a better game than the 2 interception linescore shows. The first interception was a weird bounce off a defender, and the second was the result of Wes Welker being on the ground instead of finishing his route. It happens. Matty C also threw a touchdown pass to Randy Moss which Moss promptly dropped, although he had a pretty solid game with 106 receiving yards.
New England is now 5-2 and tied for first in the AFC East as Buffalo lost to Miami (!) today. Miami is not good, but they're sure as hell better than they were last year.
The Pats play in Indy next week. The Colts will be on a short week as they play unbeaten Tennessee tonight on Monday Night Football. The Titans are the worst 6-0 team of all time, except for, perhaps, the 1972 Miami Dolphins. Going undefeated against crappy teams does not a great team make. And Mercury Morris needs to go away.
Huskies 5, Maine 0
Huskies 2, Maine 1
A weekend sweep in Orono is about as unlikely as Matt Cassel beating an NFL team. Which is to say, considerably more likely considering the level of competition. Maine is absolutely horrendous this year, with neither goalie filling the void left by 6'7" Ben Bishop. Bishop, incidentally, just got his first NHL win as the starting goalie for the St. Louis Blues. The Blues' usual starting goalie Manny Legace was injured on a carpet intended for Sarah Palin.
I'm not even going to touch that.
Friday night's game was not as lopsided as the score suggests, but the Huskies did get contributions from 5 different players. Freshman Alex Tuckerman notched his first collegiate goal, and Rob Rassey scored in his first start this season. The Huskies also got goals from Mike Hewkin, Chris Donovan, and David Strathman.
Saturday's game was stolen by NU in the third, with Rassey getting his second goal and IPNO favorite Ryan Ginand netting the gamewinner on a nasty backhand wraparound. Northeastern was badly outshot yet again, this time 27-13. This isn't a huge concern as they're obviously making their shots count, but I'd like to see them throw the puck at the net a little more often, particularly on the power play.
Brad Thiessen. Still awesome. That is all.
Wildabeasts 3, Kappa Sigma 2
I told Jeff before the game I'd need 3 goals to win. And even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes.
We tripled our career-best goals/game against a mediocre team, but we probably could've scored a couple more minus some bad bounces. The W sure looks nice now, though, as we're 2-1-1 with one game left. A win probably puts us in the playoffs.
As far as my actual play, I got to the arena about an hour early and tried to do the whole athlete thing, complete with heavy metal-laden iPod and hooded sweatshirt. I have to say, I was definitely more focused at the onset of the game, but I was feeling unusually tired even early in the first. As a result, I wasn't popping up quickly enough and was leaving way too much of the net open.
The first goal I allowed was an absolutely unacceptable squibber through the five-hole. I almost let in another but finally closed it up, making the save with my calves and the ball behind my body. I don't know what my deal is, but I just wasn't squaring up quickly enough the whole game.
The second goal was more respectable, although frankly still a shot I should've saved. They had a 2 on 1 breakaway, but I decided to stay deep in the net because I forgot that passing is damn near impossible. So instead of challenging the guy with the ball, I sorta stayed back and a shot flicked up over my weak side foot. I got a piece of it, but not enough, and had I come out and gotten closer I would've cut the angle and possibly even been able to poke it away. It didn't end up mattering, but that was not a fun goal to surrender.
My third period was generally solid. I had a sorta cool save where a liner hit me in the chest and popped up, so I sorta swatted it away with the stick with a forward incoming. It looked cool, although the right choice would've been to pull the glove over and pull it out of the air entirely. My last save was a nervous one on a high shot that I knocked down and then had to dive on. My teammates look nervous about those, but I can guarantee I'm more nervous about letting one of those squirt away onto the stick of an opponent.
The next game's not for a couple weeks, so I'll need to find a way to stay focused and maintain my mechanics.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
World Series Game 2
Rays 4, Phillies 2
As I predicted, the Phillies can't keep up with Tampa Bay's starting pitching. Brett Myers was average, maybe below average, and Jason Werth made a bad error in right that allowed the Rays two score two runs on groundouts in the first. James Shields, on the other hand, was nigh unhittable, with the Phillies scoring their only runs off David "Nastyman" Price in the eighth and ninth.
Jaime Moyer will lose to Matt Garza because Matt Garza is a good pitcher and Jaime Moyer is old, at best.
The more I watch them, the more the Rays remind me of the 2002 Angels. Young, stud arm out of the bullpen (Frankie--Price), relative unknowns contributing big hits (the Rays roster--the Angels roster), and losing the first game of a series only to come back. The primary difference? The Rays are younger and have much, much better starting pitching. Granted, they aren't playing in the middle of the steroid era, either.
More analysis post-FEA test.
As I predicted, the Phillies can't keep up with Tampa Bay's starting pitching. Brett Myers was average, maybe below average, and Jason Werth made a bad error in right that allowed the Rays two score two runs on groundouts in the first. James Shields, on the other hand, was nigh unhittable, with the Phillies scoring their only runs off David "Nastyman" Price in the eighth and ninth.
Jaime Moyer will lose to Matt Garza because Matt Garza is a good pitcher and Jaime Moyer is old, at best.
The more I watch them, the more the Rays remind me of the 2002 Angels. Young, stud arm out of the bullpen (Frankie--Price), relative unknowns contributing big hits (the Rays roster--the Angels roster), and losing the first game of a series only to come back. The primary difference? The Rays are younger and have much, much better starting pitching. Granted, they aren't playing in the middle of the steroid era, either.
More analysis post-FEA test.
Belated World Series Preview
This World Series will be a refreshing date with baseball where I don't actually care who wins. It's markedly more fun to watch baseball when you don't hate either team playing. Here's what I think is going to happen in Games 2-7, after a brief discussion of tonight's 3-2 Philadelphia victory.
Phillies 3, Rays 2
Scott Kazmir made one bad pitch to Chase Utley in the first inning and BJ Upton hit into a pair of rally killing double plays, one with the bases loaded. That's really all you need to know about this game. Cole Hamels is a good pitcher, but not great, and got out of jams with the aforementioned Upton double plays and a weird strike zone.
This game should concern Phillies fans. Why? Sure, they won, but they only scratched out 3 runs against Tampa Bay's worst starter this postseason. Shields, Garza, and Sonnanstine are all more reliable than former staff ace Kaz, and the Phillies don't have a single starter other than Hamels who doesn't, well, suck. Joe Blanton is absolute crap, and the Rays have seen him before while he was with Oakland. Jaime Moyer would not be a major league starter in the American League at this point in his career. Brett Myers is a below-league average pitcher who got rocked by the Dodgers in his last start.
The Rays obviously aren't happy about tonight's loss, but I have a hard time seeing Philly win any game not started by Whole Camels-sorry, Cole Hamels. Their offense is mediocre with a visibly struggling Ryan Howard, and Jimmy Rollins has done absolutely nothing in the postseason thus far.
Rays in 6.
Also, let it be noted that umpires have no idea how to call a balk. At all. Carlos Pena was erased on a pickoff play that was clearly a balk, as Hamels dropped his foot three-fourths of the way towards home and threw to first. We need a line on the mound.
Phillies 3, Rays 2
Scott Kazmir made one bad pitch to Chase Utley in the first inning and BJ Upton hit into a pair of rally killing double plays, one with the bases loaded. That's really all you need to know about this game. Cole Hamels is a good pitcher, but not great, and got out of jams with the aforementioned Upton double plays and a weird strike zone.
This game should concern Phillies fans. Why? Sure, they won, but they only scratched out 3 runs against Tampa Bay's worst starter this postseason. Shields, Garza, and Sonnanstine are all more reliable than former staff ace Kaz, and the Phillies don't have a single starter other than Hamels who doesn't, well, suck. Joe Blanton is absolute crap, and the Rays have seen him before while he was with Oakland. Jaime Moyer would not be a major league starter in the American League at this point in his career. Brett Myers is a below-league average pitcher who got rocked by the Dodgers in his last start.
The Rays obviously aren't happy about tonight's loss, but I have a hard time seeing Philly win any game not started by Whole Camels-sorry, Cole Hamels. Their offense is mediocre with a visibly struggling Ryan Howard, and Jimmy Rollins has done absolutely nothing in the postseason thus far.
Rays in 6.
Also, let it be noted that umpires have no idea how to call a balk. At all. Carlos Pena was erased on a pickoff play that was clearly a balk, as Hamels dropped his foot three-fourths of the way towards home and threw to first. We need a line on the mound.
Monday, October 20, 2008
ALCS Musings
All right, so it's now finally time for me to become an impartial observer on the world of baseball. The Angels are out, the Red Sox are vanquished, and all that's left are two teams which I like more for who they beat on their trip to the Series than who they are themselves. The Phillies spared me from Dodger fans, and the Rays ended the Red Sox's season in a humiliating, painful way, guaranteeing a quiet winter from the pink-hatters out here in Boston.
For the next week or so, I get to watch baseball without caring who wins. It's a nice feeling.
That said, I hope the assholes at ESPN and other national media outlets have learned something from what is sure to be a poorly rated World Series. From the first day of the season, the Yankees, Red Sox, and Cubs got countless more hours of footage, analysis, and hype than any other team. The networks played off the success of Fever Pitch and quite literally marketed a team to the general public while ignoring perfectly capable ball clubs on both coasts and towards the middle of the country.
Now, they reap what they've sown.
Two unheralded teams are going to play for baseball's biggest trophy, and neither of these teams saw half the analysis on ESPN as the Red Sox. Hell, Manny Ramirez was a bigger topic of conversation than either the Rays or the Phillies for the second half of the season. One player. Over two teams playing for the World Series.
I want to believe that the networks have learned something from this. Maybe they've learned that it makes more sense to cover teams that are playing well, regardless of their clubhouse makeup or past success. The Yankees were irrelevant for months before the playoffs, but they received more press coverage than the Angels who were quietly assembling MLB's best record. The clear and obvious bias has to stop or the executives at ESPN, FOX, TBS, or whoever, can expect consistently bad and declining ratings for each playoff series.
Also, I would immediately fire national broadcasters who openly root for teams. For example, Chip Caray. When Joe Morgan sounds impartial, you know something's wrong. What would be nice would be a dual-audio format, where the SAP button uses one team's usual announcers and the main audio uses the other team's announcers. At least this way, the bias is obvious instead of being hidden behind the supposed neutrality of new announcers.
Finally, I think the playoff format is dumb. Baseball has a massively long season which rewards day-to-day consistency in a way no other sport really does. And yet, at the end of this season, the playoffs commence with a 5 game series that has like a million off-days between each game. My opinion? Every series is 7 games long and there are no off-days. Period. Make it like the regular season. Force teams to use five starters just like they did all season. This makes it more likely that the deepest team wins, not a team with two hot starters. Reward consistency, not streaks, just like the regular season.
For the next week or so, I get to watch baseball without caring who wins. It's a nice feeling.
That said, I hope the assholes at ESPN and other national media outlets have learned something from what is sure to be a poorly rated World Series. From the first day of the season, the Yankees, Red Sox, and Cubs got countless more hours of footage, analysis, and hype than any other team. The networks played off the success of Fever Pitch and quite literally marketed a team to the general public while ignoring perfectly capable ball clubs on both coasts and towards the middle of the country.
Now, they reap what they've sown.
Two unheralded teams are going to play for baseball's biggest trophy, and neither of these teams saw half the analysis on ESPN as the Red Sox. Hell, Manny Ramirez was a bigger topic of conversation than either the Rays or the Phillies for the second half of the season. One player. Over two teams playing for the World Series.
I want to believe that the networks have learned something from this. Maybe they've learned that it makes more sense to cover teams that are playing well, regardless of their clubhouse makeup or past success. The Yankees were irrelevant for months before the playoffs, but they received more press coverage than the Angels who were quietly assembling MLB's best record. The clear and obvious bias has to stop or the executives at ESPN, FOX, TBS, or whoever, can expect consistently bad and declining ratings for each playoff series.
Also, I would immediately fire national broadcasters who openly root for teams. For example, Chip Caray. When Joe Morgan sounds impartial, you know something's wrong. What would be nice would be a dual-audio format, where the SAP button uses one team's usual announcers and the main audio uses the other team's announcers. At least this way, the bias is obvious instead of being hidden behind the supposed neutrality of new announcers.
Finally, I think the playoff format is dumb. Baseball has a massively long season which rewards day-to-day consistency in a way no other sport really does. And yet, at the end of this season, the playoffs commence with a 5 game series that has like a million off-days between each game. My opinion? Every series is 7 games long and there are no off-days. Period. Make it like the regular season. Force teams to use five starters just like they did all season. This makes it more likely that the deepest team wins, not a team with two hot starters. Reward consistency, not streaks, just like the regular season.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Carbonated Beverages + Computer != Fun
Posting to this blog is obviously going to slow down a little now that the Angels' season is over, but with college hockey, the NFL, the NHL, and soon the NBA, I really don't have a good excuse.
First, a casual note about playing with racquetballs indoors: it's dumb. I tried to swat a ball away from my roommate, hit the open, full Coke on my desk, and knocked it directly onto and into my PC through the conveniently located fan grille on top. The machine instantly hanged, and naturally the vent holes were directly over my PCI slots, dousing my video card, TV tuner card, and motherboard with delicious syrup.
Amazingly, all that really got destroyed was my network port. Everything else works, so I've installed a PCI network card and everything seems to be working fine. While I was cleaning the residue off the board, you could see where the acidic Coke etched away parts of a few traces near a chip. Unbelievable. This is why I can't have nice things.
Anyway, here's some brief recaps before I start looking at some homework.
Northeastern 4, Alaska-Anchorage 2
I'm in a little pool with the guys over at DHD, with my sponsored players being Ryan Ginand and JP Maley. For every game the Huskies win, I donate $5 to the program for each goal one of those players scores, $2 for an assist, and a $5 bonus for the gamewinning goal. Naturally, Ginand had two goals, including the gamewinner, in Northeastern's second and final game in Alaska.
The game had online video, so I got to watch the Huskies in action for the first time. Joe Vitale had a quiet series, which is unusual for him, but Ginand and McCauley had two goals each for the weekend, Thiessen looked solid between the pipes, and the freshmen, Quailer in particular, didn't look lost and seemed to fit into Cronin's system. The first home game is Saturday vs. BC, so I'm both excited and nervous.
Patriots 10, San Diego 30
Look, the Patriots can't win if they don't have an effective pass rush, and they didn't. Phil Rivers had hours in the pocket to go deep to a few different receivers, so the loss here doesn't surprise me. Frankly, one of these two teams needs to make it to the Super Bowl, so I'm not opposed to the Chargers beating the Pats.
Matt Cassel looked like crap, which is generally what happens when the other team knows how to pass rush and your team doesn't. This game, again, not Cassel's fault.
Rays 9, Boston 1
The Rays, America's new favorite team, took a 2-1 series lead by beating Jon Lester. Finally. I don't care what the statistics say. Jon Lester is not a #1 starter, and that he's pitched like one all season just shows how novelty can affect opposing lineups. This is the first year Lester's really had the opportunity to show himself to the whole league, and he introduced a new pitch. His stats will regress next season, and I look forward to it.
Also, I think Lester believes this more than anyone: He's not just a kid who beat cancer anymore. Cancer shouldn't define him. He's past it, it's done, respect the guy for his accomplishments and stop talking about his cancer every time he shows up on TV.
Evan "Wunderkind" Longoria and BJ Upton both had homers in the third, and it just kept piling on from there. I thought the Rays were dumb when they gave a rookie a big, long contract, but clearly they knew what we all now know. Go Rays.
Phillies 7, Dodgers 5
The Dodgers have no chance in this series after losing the first two, but I'm not sure I really care anymore. It's hard to root for a team whose fans threw full beers at me at a Dodgers/Angels game. It's also hard to root for the Phillies, since I hate Philly fans (at least Eagles/Flyers fans), and a small part of me still likes the Mets.
Either way, Cory Wade, who's really been quite good lately, gave up a 2-run dinger to Victorino to tie the game, and it was pretty much all-Phillies from there. The Dodger bullpen is looking like a very soft spot in the neck of the franchise.
First, a casual note about playing with racquetballs indoors: it's dumb. I tried to swat a ball away from my roommate, hit the open, full Coke on my desk, and knocked it directly onto and into my PC through the conveniently located fan grille on top. The machine instantly hanged, and naturally the vent holes were directly over my PCI slots, dousing my video card, TV tuner card, and motherboard with delicious syrup.
Amazingly, all that really got destroyed was my network port. Everything else works, so I've installed a PCI network card and everything seems to be working fine. While I was cleaning the residue off the board, you could see where the acidic Coke etched away parts of a few traces near a chip. Unbelievable. This is why I can't have nice things.
Anyway, here's some brief recaps before I start looking at some homework.
Northeastern 4, Alaska-Anchorage 2
I'm in a little pool with the guys over at DHD, with my sponsored players being Ryan Ginand and JP Maley. For every game the Huskies win, I donate $5 to the program for each goal one of those players scores, $2 for an assist, and a $5 bonus for the gamewinning goal. Naturally, Ginand had two goals, including the gamewinner, in Northeastern's second and final game in Alaska.
The game had online video, so I got to watch the Huskies in action for the first time. Joe Vitale had a quiet series, which is unusual for him, but Ginand and McCauley had two goals each for the weekend, Thiessen looked solid between the pipes, and the freshmen, Quailer in particular, didn't look lost and seemed to fit into Cronin's system. The first home game is Saturday vs. BC, so I'm both excited and nervous.
Patriots 10, San Diego 30
Look, the Patriots can't win if they don't have an effective pass rush, and they didn't. Phil Rivers had hours in the pocket to go deep to a few different receivers, so the loss here doesn't surprise me. Frankly, one of these two teams needs to make it to the Super Bowl, so I'm not opposed to the Chargers beating the Pats.
Matt Cassel looked like crap, which is generally what happens when the other team knows how to pass rush and your team doesn't. This game, again, not Cassel's fault.
Rays 9, Boston 1
The Rays, America's new favorite team, took a 2-1 series lead by beating Jon Lester. Finally. I don't care what the statistics say. Jon Lester is not a #1 starter, and that he's pitched like one all season just shows how novelty can affect opposing lineups. This is the first year Lester's really had the opportunity to show himself to the whole league, and he introduced a new pitch. His stats will regress next season, and I look forward to it.
Also, I think Lester believes this more than anyone: He's not just a kid who beat cancer anymore. Cancer shouldn't define him. He's past it, it's done, respect the guy for his accomplishments and stop talking about his cancer every time he shows up on TV.
Evan "Wunderkind" Longoria and BJ Upton both had homers in the third, and it just kept piling on from there. I thought the Rays were dumb when they gave a rookie a big, long contract, but clearly they knew what we all now know. Go Rays.
Phillies 7, Dodgers 5
The Dodgers have no chance in this series after losing the first two, but I'm not sure I really care anymore. It's hard to root for a team whose fans threw full beers at me at a Dodgers/Angels game. It's also hard to root for the Phillies, since I hate Philly fans (at least Eagles/Flyers fans), and a small part of me still likes the Mets.
Either way, Cory Wade, who's really been quite good lately, gave up a 2-run dinger to Victorino to tie the game, and it was pretty much all-Phillies from there. The Dodger bullpen is looking like a very soft spot in the neck of the franchise.
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